Pilot Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 20,000 jobs.
Median salary
£107,712
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 11.7% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£82,746
Part-time only
£122,532
Mean
£130,560
Jobs measured
20,000
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of pilots earn less than this.
Pilot salary by region
3 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £123,796 | £140,152 |
| Scotland | £83,364 | £92,430 |
| North East | £72,472 | £80,002 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers
- SOC 2020 code
- 3511
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “pilot” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS group combines pilots with air traffic controllers.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Pilot salary FAQs
What is the average Pilot salary in the UK?
The median is £107,712 a year and the mean is £130,560, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £82,746 and part-time employees £122,532.
How much does a pilot earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £67.61 excluding overtime, or £47.32 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is the starting salary for a pilot?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of pilots earn under £55,377 and the lowest quarter under £79,074 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Has pilot pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +11.7% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many pilots are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 20,000 employee jobs in “Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers” (SOC 3511) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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